Synagogue was geographic, spiritual center

Wednesday

Oct 16, 2013 at 12:01 AMOct 16, 2013 at 12:15 AM

By Louise CarrollFor the Ledger

ELLWOOD CITY -- A reminder of the once-thriving Jewish community in Ellwood City is the Wellness Center on Beatty Street, formerly the Tree of Life Synagogue, the center of the Jewish community for the more than 250 people who attended there. From the early 1900s to the 1960 the synagogue was a place bustling with activity mirroring the success of the business and professional people who went there. In 1989, when it was down to 10 families and about 20 people, it was closed and donated to Ellwood City Hospital. It serves as offices for visiting nurses today.

The first synagogue in Ellwood City was at Seventh Street and Wayne Avenue, and when the congregation outgrew that the members built the Tree of Life Synagogue in 1952. The property was chosen because it was centrally located for many of the Jewish families and on the Sabbath they could not drive.

Donna Kwall Smith, a psychologist who lives in Philadelphia, remembers attending services at the synagogue in downtown Ellwood City. Even more, she remembers the Tree of Life Synagogue, where she attended Hebrew school twice a week in addition to Sunday school and holiday services. On Sundays, Jewish children attended Sunday school and learned Bible stories, made crafts, sang songs and learned about Jewish holidays. When there were fewer children, they were bused to New Castle to join the Sunday school there.

"I had a great deal of contact with the other Jewish children, and the Jewish community provided a family atmosphere and I referred to many of the adults as Aunt and Uncle. There were active groups for the young people," Smith said.

Smith's brother Jeff Kwall, a lawyer and law professor who lives in Chicago, remembers that the synagogue was a very hallowed place particularly on the high holidays -- Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).

"It was a very intense spiritual atmosphere," Kwall said. "In addition to the spiritual side of the synagogue I remember the very busy social life. In 1964 I went to my first Pirates game on a bus trip with the synagogue's men's club, and the men played poker at a small table in the aisle."

At services the synagogue would be so packed that children were in another section. Marcy Greenberg Sutherland of Ellwood City remembers the fun the young people had at the synagogue including picnics in the parking lot with hot dogs cooking on the grill, dances and parties.

Jacob Bretton owned a grocery store on North Street called the North Side Market. His son Abel graduated from Lincoln High School and currently lives in Pittsburgh. He said his mother, Ella, was the first woman to come down from the balcony in the synagogue to sit on the main floor with the men. Tradition held that women, girls and small children sit in the balcony so as not to be a distraction to the men as they prayed.

"Apparently, she was ahead of her time with women's rights," Bretton said.

DeDe Soodik, daughter of Benjamin Soodik, a dentist, is a lawyer in Los Angeles. She said boys had their own individual bar mitzvah but girls all shared one day.

"While I thought that was sexist at the time, I learned many girls my age didn't even have the opportunity for a bat mitzvah," Soodik said.

Greenberg said people in Ellwood City who bought homes formerly owned by members of the Jewish community probably have a mezuzah on their door. A mezuzah is a sacred parchment inscribed by hand with two portions of Torah. It is stored in a protective case and hung on the doorposts of Jewish homes. In many cases it has been painted over and isn't visible.

Greenberg served on the committee that closed the Tree of Life Synagogue in 1989.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.